US lobby group wants proposed electric-car deadline delayed

Car-makers in the US are pushing back against stringent emissions regulations which will lead to greater electric-vehicle uptake – because they believe the profits lost from declining petrol-car sales won’t allow them to invest in electric technology.

A lobby group which represents a majority of the car makers selling vehicles in the US wants the government to delay proposed regulations which would result in two-thirds of new models being battery-powered by 2032.

In a letter seen by news agency Reuters, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI) – an automotive industry lobby group which lists almost all major car-makers in the US as its members – has called for the government to reconsider the regulations, claiming they achieve the targets based on current output.

An excerpt from the letter says the proposed regulations “could prematurely force abandonment of many internal combustion engine vehicles and their associated revenue, reducing the availability of capital necessary for automakers to fund the EV (electric vehicle) transition.”

In essence, the AAI believes that by restricting the purchase of petrol and diesel-powered ‘internal combustion engine’ (ICE) vehicles, car-makers won’t be able to generate enough profit to fund the development of electric models, in turn making the regulations harder to meet.

It is understood the US Government has previously proposed regulations which would result in approximately 67 per cent of new cars sold annually being electric by 2032 – though a decision on the exact rules to be implemented isn’t expected to be announced until early next year.

The AAI has previously claimed that more stringent fuel economy standards in the US could result in car-makers paying “over $US14 billion ($AU20.6 billion) in non-compliance penalties between 2027 and 2032.”

AAI CEO John Bozzella has reportedly warned proposed changes to the fuel economy standards unjustly favour electric vehicles, claiming the regulations could “jeopardise” President Joe Biden’s aim of the US reaching 50 per cent electric-vehicle sales by 2030.

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